Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a compelling 1440p and 1080p experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, though 4K Ultra settings demand compromises. The combo ranks in the 98.6th percentile of all tested configurations, placing it 23rd out of 1,687 combos. This pairing leverages a top-tier GPU with a mid-range CPU, resulting in measurable performance deltas across resolutions and presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings for this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 140.3 FPS. This is notably higher than the 4K High result, showing how resolution scaling affects performance.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19,221, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K’s score of 19,210. Its closest rival by score is the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS, which trails by 0.3% with a score of 19,167.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks in the 94th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84,306. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, which is 0.1% behind with a score of 84,241.

Q: At which resolution and settings does this combo achieve its highest average FPS?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 208.7 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 166.3 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings, showing a clear scaling trend.

Q: What is the combo's rank in this game relative to all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 23rd out of 1,687 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places it in the top 1.4% of all configurations, indicating strong overall performance.

Q: Does the CPU have a high TDP and what is its core/thread count?

A: The CPU has a TDP of 65 W, with 6 cores and 12 threads. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz and boost clock is 4.40 GHz, with a shared L3 cache of 18 MB.

Settings Recommendations

Analyzing the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience balances visual fidelity with frame rate. At 3840x2160, High settings yield 70.2 FPS, which is smooth but leaves little headroom; dropping to Medium provides 81.7 FPS, a solid improvement, while Low boosts to 110.6 FPS but sacrifices visual quality. Ultra at 4K drops to 51.4 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced scenes.

At 2560x1440, the data suggests High settings are the sweet spot, delivering 101.7 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare, and the visual jump from Medium (121.7 FPS) to High is modest in frame cost. Low at 1440p hits 166.3 FPS, but the graphical downgrade is significant. Ultra at 1440p yields 72.1 FPS, which is playable but lower than the High preset.

For 1920x1080, High settings at 140.3 FPS provide an excellent balance, offering high detail with frame rates well above refresh-rate standards. Medium at 1080p reaches 164.5 FPS, which is preferable for esports-style responsiveness, but High retains more visual richness. Low at 1080p hits 208.7 FPS, useful only for extreme refresh-rate monitors. Ultra at 1080p at 102.6 FPS is viable, but the performance gap from High is substantial. The recommended preset per resolution is High for 4K and 1440p, and High or Ultra for 1080p depending on frame rate preference.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a decisive factor in these results, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2407 MHz and base clock of 2017 MHz drive a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. With 21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs, the GPU handles Red Dead Redemption 2's heavy draw calls and high-resolution textures effectively.

The GPU's 94th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 84,306 place it among the top tier. Its nearest rival, the RTX 5090 D, scores 84,241, a 0.1% delta, while the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 trails by 1.3%. In this game, the GPU’s raw throughput is the primary driver of FPS at higher resolutions; the data shows a 36.7% drop from 1080p High (140.3 FPS) to 4K High (70.2 FPS), indicating that memory bandwidth and shading capacity are taxed heavily at 4K.

The VRAM capacity of 32 GB is unlikely to be a limiting factor in this title, as even Ultra settings at 4K typically require less. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (51.4) versus 4K High (70.2) suggests the GPU is compute-bound rather than memory-bound, with the 26.8% performance penalty for Ultra settings reflecting increased shader complexity. The GPU’s 575 W TDP and PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensure it can sustain these workloads without bottlenecking the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo ranks 23rd out of 1,687 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the 98.6th percentile. This high rank is driven primarily by the GPU’s exceptional performance, as the CPU’s 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs is modest by comparison. The data indicates that the RTX 5090 is the performance anchor, with the i5-12400F providing sufficient support.

Within the combo rankings, this configuration outperforms the vast majority of alternatives, but it is not the absolute top performer. The 23rd position suggests that a few combinations with higher-end CPUs (e.g., more cores or higher boost clocks) extract slightly more FPS, but the delta is likely small. The GPU’s nearest rivals show narrow margins—0.1% versus the RTX 5090 D and 0.2% versus the RTX 5050 Mobile—indicating that the 5090’s performance lead is consistent.

The combo’s rank is also a function of resolution; at 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant, and the i5-12400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads may limit maximum FPS compared to higher-core CPUs. However, at 4K, the GPU dominates, and this combo’s rank remains high. The measured FPS data supports this, with 4K Ultra at 51.4 FPS being the only sub-60 result, which is still respectable for the most demanding preset.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide adequate data locality for game logic. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 5,895 in 3DMark 16-thread tests and 5,912 in max-thread tests, indicating consistent multi-threading performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16,518 and single-core score of 2,332 show a balanced profile.

In this game, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 208.7 FPS, which is the highest measured result. This suggests that the CPU can handle high frame rates, but the gap between Low and High at 1080p (208.7 vs. 140.3 FPS) indicates that settings affect CPU load, with higher presets increasing draw call complexity.

At 4K, the CPU’s impact diminishes; the FPS difference between High (70.2) and Low (110.6) is larger than the resolution scaling alone would predict, but the CPU is less likely to be the bottleneck. The CPU’s 77th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 19,221 place it near the Intel Core i7-8700K (19,210, 0.1% delta) and AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (19,167, 0.3% delta). This indicates that while the CPU is not top-tier, it is sufficient to avoid major bottlenecks in most scenarios.

The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node (Alder Lake-S) contribute to efficient operation, but its lack of integrated graphics means the RTX 5090 handles all rendering. The data shows that the CPU’s single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 909) is adequate for this game’s engine, which relies on a few primary threads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 208.7 FPS, Medium reaches 164.5 FPS, High hits 140.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 102.6 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 50.8% reduction, indicating that Ultra settings impose a significant load on the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS for Low is 166.3, Medium is 121.7, High is 101.7, and Ultra is 72.1. The 1440p results show a similar pattern to 1080p, with Ultra being 56.6% lower than Low. The transition from 1080p High to 1440p High results in a 27.5% FPS drop, reflecting the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, Low yields 110.6 FPS, Medium 81.7 FPS, High 70.2 FPS, and Ultra 51.4 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only sub-60 FPS measurement across all resolutions and settings. The gap between 1440p High (101.7) and 4K High (70.2) is 31.0%, showing that 4K requires significant GPU resources. The data shows a consistent trend: each resolution step down from 1080p to 4K reduces FPS by roughly 30-50% depending on the preset, with the CPU having less influence at higher resolutions. The lowest measured result, 51.4 FPS at 4K Ultra, is still playable but indicates that users seeking 60+ FPS should opt for High settings at 4K.